Anak Krakatau 2026: Is Your Bali Flight Actually Affected?
Short answer: if you are flying into Bali on an international route, you are almost certainly fine. I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport did not close at any point during the Anak Krakatau eruption. It has stayed open, and international arrivals and departures have run close to schedule since the volcano started erupting on 4 September.
The longer answer is that 108 flights at Ngurah Rai were cancelled or rescheduled between Sunday morning and Monday midday, catching around 13,000 passengers. Almost every one of them was on a domestic route to or from Jakarta and Bandung. That distinction matters, and most of the headlines with the word Krakatau in them have not made it.
We run two villas in Padonan, north Canggu, and our inbox filled up over the weekend. So here is what actually happened, where it stands as of Tuesday 8 September, and what to do if your flight was one of the 108.
The volcano is 1,200 kilometres from Bali
Anak Krakatau sits in the Sunda Strait, the stretch of water between Java and Sumatra. On a map that is the far western end of Indonesia. Bali is at the other end, roughly 1,200 kilometres east.
Indonesia's Geological Agency recorded a continuous eruption that began late on 4 September and ran for about 25 hours before ending in the early hours of 6 September. Three Strombolian eruptions followed. At its peak the ash column reached around 15 kilometres, or 50,000 feet, above sea level at 00:50 WIB on 5 September. The Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre tracked the main plume drifting west at roughly 74 km/h.
West. Away from Bali. That one detail is the whole story of why Ngurah Rai stayed open while Jakarta's airport did not.
The volcano remains at Level III, Alert, the second-highest of Indonesia's four levels. The Geological Agency has warned that the potential for further eruptions is still high, with hazards including heavy ashfall and lava flows near the volcano itself.
What actually happened at Bali's airport
No ash reached Bali. What Bali got was the knock-on effect. Eight airports in western Indonesia suspended operations from 5 September: Soekarno-Hatta, Halim Perdanakusuma, Radin Inten II, Husein Sastranegara, Budiarto Curug, Pondok Cabe, Muhammad Taufiq Kiemas and Atung Bungsu.
A large share of Bali's domestic traffic routes through Jakarta. Close Soekarno-Hatta and Ngurah Rai feels it within hours. Here is the breakdown airport authorities recorded between 7am on Sunday 6 September and 11am on Monday 7 September.
Arrivals cancelled: 43 from Soekarno-Hatta, 5 from Halim Perdanakusuma, 3 from Bandung's Husein Sastranegara.
Departures cancelled: 51 to Soekarno-Hatta, 3 to Halim Perdanakusuma, 3 to Bandung.
Passengers affected: roughly 13,000, split about 4,400 arriving and 8,700 departing.
International flights affected: one. Citilink QG500, Denpasar to Dili, 94 passengers, cancelled because the aircraft could not leave Jakarta.
Immigration at Ngurah Rai never stopped. The head of the Ngurah Rai Immigration Office, Muhamad Novyandri, confirmed that arrival and departure checks ran as usual throughout, and that border-crossing records for the 94 stranded Dili passengers were adjusted so nobody was penalised for a cancellation they did not cause.
Bali's airport never closed. What closed was Jakarta, and Bali sits downstream of Jakarta on the domestic network. - Evarah Collection, Padonan, Canggu
Where things stand as of 8 September
Most of it is already over. Soekarno-Hatta, Halim Perdanakusuma and Husein Sastranegara resumed operations at 00:01 on Tuesday 8 September. Budiarto Curug and Pondok Cabe followed at 02:25. Atung Bungsu in South Sumatra had already reopened at 9am on Monday. Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi confirmed the closures had ended during an inspection at Soekarno-Hatta.
Two airports in Lampung, Radin Inten II and Muhammad Taufiq Kiemas, remain closed pending further assessment of ash conditions. Both are in Sumatra. Neither is on any route you would take to Bali.
One caveat worth holding onto: reopening is not the same as recovery. Aircraft and crews are in the wrong places, and rebooking queues take days to clear. If your itinerary touches Jakarta this week, expect knock-on delays even though the airport is technically running.
If you are stranded, there is a free 30-day permit
On 7 September, Immigration Director General Hendarsam Marantoko announced that foreign nationals unable to leave Indonesia because of the flight cancellations can apply for an Emergency Stay Permit, the Izin Tinggal Keadaan Terpaksa, or ITKT.
It is free of charge.
It is valid for up to 30 days, and can be extended if airspace restrictions continue.
Overstay fees are being waived for travellers affected by the disruption.
Applications are processed at immigration offices including Ngurah Rai in Bali.
By immigration's own count, 520 flights were cancelled nationally between 5 and 7 September, 254 arrivals and 266 departures, affecting 86,760 passengers. The Ngurah Rai office had processed exactly one ITKT application as of Monday. That number tells you more about how little of this landed in Bali than any press release could.
What to do if you are flying to Canggu this month
Check your specific flight number with the airline before you leave for the airport. Schedules are still moving.
If you are connecting through Jakarta, look at whether a direct international service into Denpasar is available instead. Most of those never stopped.
Build a buffer day around anything fixed: a wedding, a retreat, a return flight home.
Do not cancel a Bali trip on the strength of a headline. The island's air, water, roads and beaches have been unaffected by this eruption.
Tell your villa. Arrival times and airport pickups get reshuffled constantly, and it takes one message.
Once you land, the drive north is the easy part. We broke down the real options and real prices in our Bali airport transfer guide. Padonan is about 45 minutes from the terminal outside peak traffic.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bali airport open right now?
Yes. I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport has remained open throughout the Anak Krakatau eruption. Domestic and international flight operations, passenger services and immigration processing have all continued.
Are flights to Bali cancelled because of the volcano?
International flights to Bali were not cancelled, with a single exception: Citilink's Denpasar to Dili service. The 108 cancellations at Ngurah Rai were almost entirely domestic routes to and from Jakarta and Bandung, caused by the closure of those airports rather than by ash over Bali.
How far is Anak Krakatau from Bali?
Roughly 1,200 kilometres. The volcano is in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, at the western end of Indonesia. Bali is far to the east, and the ash plume has been drifting west, away from the island.
Is the air in Canggu affected by volcanic ash?
No. There has been no ashfall in Bali from this eruption. Ash from Anak Krakatau has affected parts of western Java and southern Sumatra, more than a thousand kilometres away. Canggu's air quality has been normal for a dry-season September.
Come anyway
Bali is having an ordinary September. Dry, warm, noticeably quieter than August, and entirely unbothered by a volcano at the other end of the country. If you are still coming, and you should be, we have two three-bedroom villas with private pools fifteen minutes from Berawa beach: Villa Zoya, Mediterranean and warm, and Nomad House, concrete, glass and jungle. Both sleep six.
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